What are you filling your head with? The "Facebook effect" or "social media effect" can lead us to be mentally consuming more junk than we would like. That’s why now it is even more important than ever to be intentional about what you read. Each year I buy dozens of books to line my bookshelves. This year I have compiled a list of books that I would like to read over the year. I'm sure I will read more than just these books, but I created this list of books as a way to ensure that I will get to them. If you have ever wondered what is on my bookshelf, then listen to this episode to hear my book list for this year. Upgrade your beliefs by changing what you read You are what you eat. We’ve all heard that expression our whole lives, but the more accurate description is that we are what we read. My intentional book list for this year covers a variety of genres, one is finance related, one is about growing my business, another is a cookbook, one will help me practice agile thinking. I also have a few books that I have enjoyed so much that I reread them each year. Are you curious to hear about what I am reading? Listen to this episode to hear which books are on my nightstand and then you can create your own intentional reading list. What is a melt-up and do you need to worry about one? In the news recently there has been a hubbub of an impending melt-up. Have you heard this worrisome term being thrown around on various media outlets? Are you curious about what it actually means? One listener heard about a melt-up that happened in Japan and is concerned that the same thing could happen here in the U.S. A melt-up is a dramatic and unexpected improvement in the performance of an asset class driven by a stampede of investors.  Listen to this episode to hear if a melt-up is something that you may need to worry about. Social security can leave us with a lot of questions - here’s one from a listener One listener asks about social security, his spouse isn’t eligible to draw on social security as a survivor, so should he go ahead and draw on it early? The government never makes these questions easy to answer; you can’t just do the math and simply figure it out. While mathematically you can figure out the break-even point, there are other considerations to take into account like what are your other income sources in early retirement. What do you need the income for? Listen to this episode to hear all of the questions you should ask yourself when considering this question. Choose what you read Live life more intentionally by choosing a personal reading list this year. I’ve chosen to live my life more intentionally by removing social media from my constant attention and in doing so I have been able to consume content that I have deliberately chosen. This book list will give me a broad range of reading material that may even help me better myself. If you would like to find out what’s on my book list and why then listen to this episode to hear the full reading list, you’ll even get to hear what Nichole is reading too!   OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN [1:22] What are you filling your head with? HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [2:02] Some new books that I am going to read this year [10:21] Books that I reread every year PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [13:54] What’s on Nichole’s book list [15:29] What is a melt-up? [21:33] A social security question [26:34] How can you tithe from investments THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [29:07] What happened when I deleted social media from my phone? TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [31:22] Create an intentional reading list for the year Resources Mentioned In This Episode BOOK - Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow BOOK - The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday BOOK - The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan BOOK - Essentialism by Greg McKeown BOOK - Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud BOOK - Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt BOOK - The Advisor Playbook by Duncan MacPherson BOOK - The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam BOOK